Katara's Daughter
by Squirrel Watching
Summary: After Katara died Zuko took in her daughter. This story focuses on how Zuko's sons and Katara's daughter deal with the nature of Zuko's and Katara's relationship and each other. Confused by summary then read the first chapter it's short.
1. Chapter 1

**Katara's Daughter**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of the characters.

This is just a sweet little one shot between Zuko and the daughter of Katara. It could be more if people were interested in either the Zuko Katara back story or more about Kiela and Zuko's sons.

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A little girl with browned skin, dark hair, and crystalline blue eyes casually crawled onto the lap of one of the most foreboding looking men alive. The skin about his left eye was severely burned; the skin unnaturally crinkled and angry red in color. His hair was pulled back in a regal topknot, a crown adorning his hair. His mouth was turned down in a pointed frown and his arms were crossed tightly against his chest. This didn't deter the eagerness of the little girl at all; she truly was her mother's daughter.

She wiggled around a bit trying to get comfortable in the rigid lap, which caused him to grimace slightly. She wasn't that little of a girl, already going on eight years old. She dug her knees sharply into his thighs in order to face him and wrap her arms around his neck. "Uncle Zuko, will you tell me about my mother again?" she asked in a fluid voice. Zuko finally gave up on his 'ignore the girl until she goes away' plan, her nobly knees were quite painful. He wrapped his arms around the girl and repositioned her, so she sat sideways on his lap.

"Kiela, you have to stop coming into the throne room whenever you please. I could be in a very important meeting. Even my sons know not to come into this room," he scolded the bright eyed girl.

However, his tone was not harsh and had the sound of a lecture she had heard many times. He could never be very firm with Kiela. "But this is the only time for you and me," she said working her face into a pout. "Rukon and Zoren always see you for fire bending, but I only see you at meals. I get lonely and miss you, Uncle Zuko. My nurse maid isn't very nice, and I don't think Aunt Mai likes me very much".

Zuko cringed away from the awkward question. It's true; his wife wasn't the most affectionate person in the world. However, she had managed to form some sort of relationship with their own sons. "She just needs to get used to you," he told her.

Kiela rolled her eyes at Zuko's words. If five years wasn't enough time for Aunt Mai to get used to her, she doubted any more time would make the least bit of difference.

"So what story do you want to hear about your mother?" he asked quickly changing the subject.

"The one Grandpa Iroh used to tell; where you captured her and protected her from the pirates," she told him.

He would have frowned, but he was used to these requests from Kiela. "In those days I was chasing after the avatar," he began.

"Aang," Kiela interrupted. "His name is Aang".

Zuko gave her a crooked smile. She was so much like Katara. "Okay, I was trying to capture Aang. Well you're mother had had a run in with pirates and there was some confusion of ownership concerning a water bending scroll". He smiled slightly at the memory. "I temporarily joined those pirates in order to track down the A…Aang. We found your mother practicing water bending and we captured her," he said.

Kiela gasped dramatically though she had heard this story many times from Iroh and Zuko.

"I tied her to a tree, and tried to make her tell me where Aang was".

"But she wouldn't tell, would she?" Kiela asked.

"Nope. Not even when I offered her mother's necklace in exchange for the information". Kiela's small fist curled around the blue pendant hanging from her neck. "She was always very loyal. She would never betray a friend… or even an enemy," he muttered the last part.

"Then the pirates came," Kiela prompted.

"Well yes. They wanted to be more direct in negotiation." Zuko replied vaguely.

"They were going to hurt her," Kiela scowled.

"Yes," Zuko admitted.

"But you wouldn't let them," she said smiling up at him.

"It wouldn't be right to hurt a girl tied to a tree. Though I'm sure your mother would have been able to take care of herself," Zuko told her shaking his head ruefully. "She always seemed to get out of the tightest spots. I'm still not sure how she got loose from the tree," he confided.

Kiela smiled into his chest. "Did you know my father?" she asked. The smile slipped off his face. No. Not well. He was water tribe and met your mother after we went our separate ways," regret weighed heavily on his last words.

"Did she love me?"

"More than anything in the world," he replied with a warm smile directed at the top of her head.

"Was she beautiful?" Kiela asked softly.

Zuko cleared his throat. "Yes, very beautiful," he admitted.

"I wish I could remember her," she said her voice barely above a whisper.

"I wish you could remember her too," he said planting a soft kiss to her unkempt hair.

"Did you love her?"

Zuko paused a moment before answering the question. They were alone in his throne room and no one would hear his answer except for Katara's daughter. "Yes. More than anything in the world," he whispered and his words reverberated off the walls. Kiela sighed contentedly into the fire lord's tunic, while he tried to blink back the hot stinging sensation in his eyes.

In the shadowed corner of the throne room the lone figure of a boy stood. His mother's scowl burned across his face as he watched his father comfort the interloping water tribe child.

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Reviews are appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or the Avatar characters

I have decided to extend this story from a one shot to a chapter story, so the plot has changed a bit. The story will focus on Zuko's sons primarily Zoren and Katara's daughter and their discovery of the nature of the relationship between Zuko and Katara. It will probably be a little angsty. What can I say, I like angst. I hope no one is to upset that I changed this from a oneshot.

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Kiela's arrival to the fire nation was one of Zoren's first memories. He had been barely five at the time and he remembered the tension in the air. He was overflowing with excitement. After all this was the first time he had ever seen a flying bison before.

Everyone else seemed to be excited to meet the avatar. Sure, Zoren thought the avatar was great too; master of all four elements, hero in his childhood tales, etc. However, Zoren was much more excited to see a flying bison. I mean it was a bison and it could fly; it had always been his favorite part of Grandpa Iroh's stories. Now he was actually going to meet Appa and maybe even get a ride. He was going to get to fly!

He had been playing near the stables all morning in what he thought was a sneaky manner. He was afraid his mother or father would send him back to lessons, and tell him not to bother the avatar when he arrived. However, when his father saw him he shook his head and smiled in a knowing way. Zoren smiled to himself thinking to have tricked his father.

Zoren was on the verge of losing interest in waiting for the flying Bison. He was honestly very excited, but he was five and it was getting near lunch time. Right before he wandered away to find some other game a dark shadow blotted out the sun that always shone brightly over his home land.

Zoren looked up slightly frightened. He had never liked the dark much. Then he saw the underside of a giant beast. It had six legs and a large flat tale. Its fur was white and glimmered in the bright sunlight. Zoren followed it with his eyes as it passed overhead, craning his neck so far backwards that he became unbalanced and fell on his bottom. He let out a small 'oomph' before quickly turning, crawling, regaining his feet, and running after the enormous creature. He forgot about his clever ruse of 'playing' and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

Fire Lord Zuko followed his son at a more dignified pace. Zoren reached the bison and suddenly became overwhelmingly shy and cautious. It was an awfully big flying bison. He wandered if they all were so big. Just as he was getting up his courage to approach the fluffy beast it let out an earth rumbling yawn.

Zoren squeaked in surprise and retreated behind the legs of his father, who had just arrived. His older brother, Rukon, had also arrived standing rigidly next to his beautiful mother. Zuko smiled slightly at his son's reaction, while his mother looked on seemingly bored by the whole affair.

Zoren watched the whole scene intently from behind the protection of his father's legs. A tall thin man dressed in strange looking orange clothes jumped off the bison. He was bald with blue tattoos. It had to be the avatar. Zoren never realized how girly Air Bender clothes were. No one had ever described the Avatar's clothes before. His pants fluttered in the wind as he fell, much more slowly than a normal person would, to the ground.

It was strange to see the avatar. He didn't look like the young carefree boy Zoren had always imagined. Zoren thought he looked very sad.

His father must have noticed that something was wrong too, because he instantly stopped smiling and raised an eyebrow at the Avatar. "To what do we owe the pleasure? You're bison was spotted entering the fire nation, so we were prepared for your arrival. However, we have no idea as to the motivation for your visit," his father told the Avatar.

"Zuko…" The Avatar looked up with tears shining in his unique gray eyes.

Zoren didn't understand why the Avatar looked like he was about to cry. His father's face just grew harder in response to the Avatar saying his name. Zuko looked back and forth between the two confusedly. He knew they were friends of a sort.

"It's Katara". The Avatar finished blinking away what were the beginnings of tears.

Zoren felt his father's body grow tense. He also thought he saw his mother frown slightly and her eyes darken, but it was gone quickly if it was even there to begin with.

The fire lord clenched his fists and Zoren felt his body temperature rise a few degrees. "What's happened?" He said in barely a whisper.

"She's been killed," the Avatar replied his voice cracking.

"Who," Zuko practically roared and his fists burst into flames. Zoren stumbled backwards away from his father falling to the ground. Zuko's fist had been at his eye level and he was seeing spots from the sudden brightness. He touched his face and found that he was crying unexpectedly.

However, his father didn't turn around and comfort him as Zoren expected. In fact it looked like his father didn't notice him at all. He just stood there glaring at the Avatar his fists aflame.

Zoren was surprised when a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind. He looked back slightly shocked to find his mother. Zoren loved his mother, but he could count the number of hugs he got from her that he could remember on one hand. She pulled him into her lap and rocked him gently for a moment as his eyes wandered back to his enraged father.

"Zuko, I…" Aang began.

"Who killed her?" Zuko repeated his hands glowing even brighter.

"I don't think this is the time or the place," Aang tried again glancing at the children.

Zuko continued to stare at Aang. "Tell me, now" he repeated.

Zoren whimpered slightly. He had never seen his father like this. Even Rukon looked scared, gripping their mother's shoulder tightly.

"Fire nation settlers," the Avatar relented. "She had gone to help settle a dispute between an earth nation village and fire nation citizens who lived their". The Avatar's voice trembled. "It was at my request. I should have been there instead of her, but I had no idea the situation was so serious".

Zuko took a threatening step towards Aang, but restrained himself. "By the time she arrived the village was burning. Things had gotten out of hand. She managed to put out the fires with her bending, but many of the buildings were left unstable. As she was searching one for survivors the structure collapsed".

Zuko's fists continued to flame, but the heat and size of flame had diminished considerably. Zoren was afraid his father might burst into flame. "Did you find them? The ones who did this," he asked.

"Her husband," Zuko's hands once again flared to life. "Went after and killed most of them, but he was killed in the process". Zuko closed his eyes and breathed steam out his nose.

However, the fire in Zuko's hands and in his eyes died immediately when a brown faced child with wide blue eyes peeked over Appa's saddle. "Aang?" the three year old child asked.

Zuko looked from the child to Aang slightly bewildered. Zoren also looked at the child curiously and shrugged off his mother. He approached the bison and his father even though he was still cautious of Zuko's temper.

"Katara's daughter, Kiela," Aang replied to the unasked question. The Avatar jumped onto Appa's saddle and scooped up the girl bringing her back down with him.

She looked at Zuko curiously with the strangest color of eyes Zoren had ever seen. She reached out to the Fire Lord, and Zuko took her into his arms dumbly.

"Katara always considered you and Iroh to be a part of our strange little family, and I know she would want Kiela to stay in the family. I…I can't take Kiela to the places I need to go. Toph will probably never be ready for kids knowing her, not unless they're a couple of strong willed boys. And since Sokka…" Aang paused for a moment a shadow passing over his face. He cleared his face and continued, "Katara told me once after Kiela was born that if anything ever happened to her and her husband that she wanted you to look after her. She always knew you would be a great father, Zuko," Aang said smiling sadly.

Zuko looked down at the little girl in his arms and his eyes softened, and Zoren saw the father he knew and loved. He was relieved things were back to normal even if they were completely different. He didn't notice the deep scowl on his mother's face as she watched Zuko and the little girl.

Zuko looked at Aang at a loss for words, but managed to nod weekly. Aang smiled brightly, giving a glimpse of the Avatar Zoren remembered from tales.

He looked away from Zuko and to his surrounding family, "My how big your boys have gotten!" Aang exclaimed. He kneeled down in front of Zoren. "You're brother might remember me, but last time I visited you were no bigger than this," he said using his hands to express the size of a baby.

Zoren smiled shyly at the air bender. He glanced over the young man's shoulder at Appa. The Avatar followed Zoren's gaze and gave him a wink. "Have you ever ridden a flying bison?" Aang asked already knowing the answer.

Zoren shook his head in the negative.

Aang smiled again. "Well, would you like to?" he asked.

Zoren nodded his head furiously. "Well then let's go for a ride, you too Rukon," he said looking at Zoren's brother. "Of course if it's okay with your parents." Aang and the boys looked at Mai and Zuko expectantly. Mai waved them off with her trade mark bored expression and Zuko nodded thoughtlessly the majority of his attention focused on the little girl in his arms.

Zuken felt a slight twinge of jealousy in his stomach as he noticed the attention his father paid to the new little girl. However, this feeling was soon replaced by excitement and a funny swooping feeling as Aang lifted him and his brother onto Appa using air bending. He and his brother laughed in delight as they took off, leaving any worries and doubts behind them.

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Yes Sokka is dead too. I might explain the specifics later. The Avatar world is a dangerous place to live in and bad things happen especially to good people.

One last thought for anyone who enjoys angst. I don't write Aang centered fics or really read them, but I thought of an awesome, in my deluded opinion, title for a humor/angst/parody piece about Aang that anyone is free to use. "You can't mispell 'Aangst' without 'Aang'". I know right totally cheesy and yet awesome. If you write it I'll read it.

Once again thank you for reading and for reviewing. I really enjoy this story and I hope some of you do too.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of the characters. I just love it to death.

2nd update in one day. I was so excited after the last chapter that I had to write more. Enjoy.

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Zoren immediately took to looking after Kiela, though it certainly looked to be the other way around with the way she continuously clung to Zoren. Rukon didn't seem as interested in the little girl, but it wasn't unusual as he was four years her senior and busy training to be the next fire lord. Zoren hadn't shown any propensity to bend fire yet, so the time his brother spent fire bending he spent with Kiela and Grandpa Iroh.

Kiela immediately wormed her way into Iroh's heart, though that wasn't particularly challenging considering she was an adorable little girl who took after her mother. She even liked to drink Grandpa Iroh's tea, which made Zoren scrunch up his face in disgust. Really what child would drink bitter tasting tea when they could have sweet drinks like fire-plumb juice?

Zoren's father seemed to have the same opinion on tea as Zoren. After all he was the one who taught Zoren to politely pour tea onto the fir-palms when Grandpa Iroh wasn't looking. Kiela's presence made time with Grandpa Iroh much more enjoyable, because he could more easily rid himself of the bitter beverage while the old man was distracted by the energetic girl. He got to listen to Grandpa Iroh's fantastic tales without drinking tea and Grandpa Iroh also told stories he had never heard before.

Zoren didn't know why he had never heard stories about Katara before. Katara was only mentioned in passing once or twice as one of the companions of the Avatar. His uncle had told dozens of stories about the amazing blind metal bending girl, the Avatar and his flying bison, and even some humorous ones about a loyal but bumbling water tribe soldier. Then there were the hundreds of stories about his brave and unyielding father. However, he had never once specifically told a story about Kiela's mother until she arrived.

There were some good ones too. He still liked to hear stories about his father most and as Kiela grew older she wanted to hear more about her mother. Grandpa Iroh often compromised and told stories that both Zuko and Katara were in. There was one about pirates and one where they had to dress up and pretend to be married to sneak into the fire nation and one where Katara saved his father's life with her magical healing powers after Zuko took a blow meant for her.

Sometimes Zoren's father would come and listen to Grandpa Iroh's stories with them and get this far away look in his eye. Sometimes he would smile and other times he would have a scowl on his face as he listened to Grandpa Iroh.

When Zoren and Kiela didn't listen to Grandpa Iroh's stories they often played in the gardens. Mostly they fed the turtle ducks sometimes they were joined by Fire Lord Zuko and other times Rukon would come and play with them as well.

Zoren didn't like how Rukon played sometimes. They would play captured princess, and Kiela would be tied to a tree. Rukon always played the bad guy who was holding Kiela hostage. One time he threatened to burn the captive princess if Zoren got any closer and made a small flame appear in his hand.

Kiela was not afraid of anything. Zoren had seen her walk along roof edges scaring his father nearly to death, jump into water far over her head, enter his father's war chambers, and climb on palace guards. He had never seen her cry once or scream except in joy, but when Rukon lit that fire her eyes went wide and she whimpered quietly.

Rukon quickly put out the fire, but Kiela was already crying. Zoren had never been so mad in his life. Even though Rukon was two years older, much bigger, and a fire bender Zoren tackled him to the grass without thinking. He than began attempting to hit his older brother with his small fists.

They were pulled apart by their mother who had a disapproving scowl on her face. "What are you doing?" she asked in her stern voice.

"We were playing and I accidentally scared Kiela," Rukon explained.

"He held fire, mother, and made her cry," Zoren interjected.

Mai looked over at the whimpering girl still tied to the tree with something akin to hatred and then back at her boys. "You will not fight again. Do you understand?"

Both boys nodded their heads down.

"And you will no longer play with Kiela," she finished with an impassive look on her face. Both boys looked at her in shock, but Zoren felt like his stomach had dropped to his feet.

"No you can't," Zoren said desperately. "We would never hurt her it was an accident," he pleaded.

"You boys are too rough on her," their mother replied. She went over and cut loose the rope that held Kiela and put a firm hand on her shoulder. "Besides she is nearly six and will soon be sent to the fire academy for girls to learn skills necessary for every woman to know," Mai explained.

"No, I won't go," Kiela shouted stomping on her Aunt Mai's foot and squirming loose. She grabbed Zoren's hand and ran out of the gardens. Zoren followed her blindly, though he knew he would be in trouble later.

Kiela threaded her ways through the palace corridors. They reached the doors to the throne room, and Zoren hesitated. They weren't ever supposed to enter the throne room, but Kiela had let go of his hand in order to slip through the crack she created in the door. He followed after her, and her small hand grabbed his shirt pulling him behind the tapestries.

"Kiela, what are you doing? We can't be here," Zoren whispered desperately.

"No one will find us here. Please Zoren," she said holding him tightly around his middle. "I don't want to go," she begged.

He hugged her back and hoped that she was right. "You won't," he promised. When he heard the door to the throne room burst open he held his breath.

"Fire Lord Zuko," came the clipped voice of his mother.

"Yes Mai," he replied. "You can call me Zuko; we are married," he said with a slight smile to his voice.

"Fine, Zuko," she breathed. "I want that water bender's child out of my home immediately," she demanded. Zoren couldn't see what was going on, but he could feel the temperature of the room rise as the glow of the fires surrounding the throne increased.

"And why is that Mai," his father replied in a cold voice.

"She's a bad influence on the boys, especially Zoren. They play all day and he neglects his lessons," she told him in an angered voice.

"Mai Zoren's only seven, and the world is at peace," his tone of voice nearly matching Mai's.

"And she's a constant reminder of her," Mai screamed. Kiela clasped Zoren tightly, and Zoren buried his face in her brown hair. Zoren had never heard his mother this upset and it frightened him. He didn't understand everything, but he definitely understood the anger.

"What has that got to do with anything, Mai," Zuko said warningly. "You are my wife and the only woman I've been with that should satisfy you," Zuko replied coldly.

"Please, Zuko," Mai said her voice trembling slightly. Zoren looked up from Kiela's hair surprised. He had never heard his mother say 'please' before either.

"No, Kiela stays and that's final," Zuko commanded.

"Fine," Mai hissed and Zoren heard her dress swirl and the door slam as she left the throne room.

His father sighed and returned to whatever Fire Lords did. He held Kiela for another ten minutes as she cried for the second time that day. They snuck out of the throne room and into their bedrooms to await the next day. Zoren wasn't sure whether he should be happy or sad. He was glad Kiela was staying, but he had never heard his parents fight before. A small part of him blamed Kiela for the fight, but he pushed that dark thought away.

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Oooh. Who do you think was listening to Zuko's confession of love for Katara in chapter one? Was it Rukon or Zoren? You won't find out for awhile sorry. "Mine is an evil laugh" -Wosh from Firefly 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or any of the characters.

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Kiela awoke from her sleep with a start. The moon was full and bright lighting her comforter through the windows and the sheer red curtains surrounding her bed. She wasn't sure what awoke her until she heard it again, a muffled scream from one of the neighboring rooms. 

Kiela scrambled out of bed throwing on her short sleeved pink dressing gown. She could only find one of her slippers by her bed. The other must have been lost somewhere the previous night. She heard the scream again and decided to go without. Her stockings slipped on the polished stone of the corridors as she ran to Zoren's room.

She knew Zoren didn't like the dark and often had nightmares. She slipped into his room and saw him thrashing about in his large bed. She crawled up onto the luxurious comforter and went to his side. He continued to thrash about as she tried to calm him.

She frowned at Zoren. Beads of sweat were slipping off his face. She put her hand to his forehead and pulled it back quickly. He felt hot, really hot. He could be sick or something. She wondered if she should get Uncle Zuko or Aunt Mai. Of course, then she would have to explain why she was in Zoren's room and likely be scolded by Aunt Mai.

She decided to try to wake Zoren up first. She shook his shoulder roughly. "Please Zoren, wake up" She pleaded with him her eyes tearing with worry. He grumbled something in protest, but did not rouse. Kiela shook him harder trying to get him to come out of whatever nightmare he was in. "I command you to wake up right now," Kiela commanded in a voice as close to Aunt Mai's as she could manage.

Zoren did not wake, but he did grab her left arm with his right hand. His hands were as hot as his face, hotter even. Kiela began to sweat herself as her body temperature rose from being close to Zoren. His grip on her arm was beginning to hurt her. "Wake up Zoren," she practically shouted at him.

She clutched at his hand, desperately trying to pull it off. She suddenly wished that she had gotten her Aunt and Uncle and was being scolded by Aunt Mai right now. "Please Zoren," she said once again. This time the tears in her eyes were caused by pain and fear rather than worry.

Suddenly a searing pain raced up her for arm and she let out a sharp, high-pitched, scream. Zoren's eyes snapped open in response and he immediately removed his hand from Kiela's forearm, but the damage was already done. An angry red mark in the shape of Zoren's hand was burned into Kiela's arm. Tears slid silently down her cheeks as Zoren looked at her, still dazed from sleep and his nightmare.

"Kiela, what's wrong?" he asked. She shuddered in pain when he touched her shoulder. "Kiela?" he asked again helplessly.

"Oh Zoren," she gasped out. It hurt so much. She had never felt such pain in all her life. This was nothing like the cuts and bruises she received while playing. "It hurts," she managed to say.

He looked at her confusedly, and then his eyes found where she was clutching his arm. He gently made the six year old pull her right hand away from her left forearm. He stared at the mark on her arm dumbly.

Tears began to drip down his cheeks when he saw the hand print. "Kiela, Who?" he began.

She looked up at him with her devastatingly blue eyes. She didn't want to tell him. It would only make him sadder if he knew, but he had figured it out.

"But I couldn't of…I can't…I'm not a bender," he stuttered out in denial. He held the hand on her uninjured arm tightly. "Oh, Kiela. I'm so sorry. I would never hurt you," he tried to assure her.

"I know," she said breathlessly. She tried to stop the tears, but she couldn't. The burn still ached and felt like it was on fire. She wondered if the sensation would ever leave her arm. She tried to smile weakly at Zoren. "It was an accident," she told him. She was very strong willed for a six year old.

"We have to get father and mother," Zoren said making to get out of bed.

Kiela felt dread well up inside of her. She stopped him with her good arm. "No, you can't," she told him the tears continuing to leak out of her eyes. "We'll get in trouble," she said breathlessly. Her arm ached so much.

Zoren shook his head. "No Kiela. You need a doctor," he tried to reason with her.

"What if…What if they don't let me see you anymore," she cried out holding on tighter to his sleeping clothes. She couldn't bear to live here anymore if she couldn't see Zoren. He was her only friend, unless you counted Uncle Zuko and Grandpa Iroh. "Please Zoren. We don't have to tell. It's not that bad," she told him. She let go of his shirt and tried to brush the tears away from her eyes with her good hand. "See," she said in a trembling voice.

Zoren frowned at her, but he was also afraid that he wouldn't be allowed to see Kiela after he had burned her. His father was very protective of Kiela, and his mother had already made her feelings about their friendship known. He nodded at the teary eyed girl. "Okay, but we have to bandage your arm," he told her.

Kiela nodded weakly in response and watched as he looked for something that could be used as a bandage. Zoren rifled around in his dresser until he found the strips of cloth he wrapped his hands in for martial arts. They had been cleaned and would work perfectly for a bandage. He pulled it out of the dresser triumphantly and looked back to see that Kiela had fallen asleep on the bed. He frowned and rushed to her side. He lay his head lightly on her chest to make sure she was still breathing.

He knew soldiers who were burned in training sometimes went into shock and stopped breathing. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt her small chest move up and down. He knew he should treat the wound with some sort of ointment or disinfectant. However, he didn't have anything like that in his room and he didn't know where to go to get any.

He then remembered that there were plants in his room that could help a little. He had a prickle-stem growing in his room. Its thick green leaf like braches could be broken off and contained a soothing numbing sap. It was one of the most common plants in the fire nation and certainly one of the most useful.

He finally felt thankful for the classes he was forced to take. He broke off a spray of the plant and brought it over to Kiela. He didn't want to wake her, but he knew this would help in the long run.

He touched her right hand turning her arm so he could have better access. She gasped and turned her shining eyes towards him. There was no fear in her eyes only trust. He squeezed the sap out and spread it across the wound. Kiela winced, but did not cry out or let any more tears fall.

Zoren finished and wrapped her arm carefully avoiding looking into her eyes. He tied off the white linen and looked up. She was smiling thankfully at him. Her cheeks were still stained by her recent tears. He felt another wave of guilt wash over him. He crawled back into bed with Kiela.

He didn't want to go to sleep. He was afraid of hurting her again. Though a small part of him felt happy that he was going to be fire bender, the rest of him felt incredibly guilty. The burn looked bad. Kiela would have a reminder of this night and what he did for the rest of her life.

Kiela brought her hand to his cheek. "It's okay Zoren. Go to sleep. You won't hurt me again". Her voice was filled with so much confidence that he almost believed her.

"How do you know?" he asked her with a hint of bitterness in his voice. He hadn't meant it to come out that way.

Kiela just smiled dreamily in response. "The moon spirit is watching over us," she told him looking towards the window where a white moon hung.

Zoren looked to the moon and then back to Kiela doubtfully. She smiled at him again, "She'll make sure you don't have any more nightmares. Grandpa Iroh told me she was a spirit of the northern water tribe princess who loved my Uncle Sokka very much. They'll protect us and make sure you don't have any more nightmares," she promised.

Kiela soon fell back asleep, but Zoren continued to stay awake. He didn't have the same amount of faith in the moon or the spirits that Kiela did. He eventually did fall asleep and he didn't have another nightmare that night. In fact he didn't have another nightmare for many years after that night.

It could have been the birth of his bending that ended his childhood nightmares or growing up by taking care of Kiela, but he liked to believe as Kiela did that the spirits were watching over them.

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Not any new Zuko/Katara information in this chapter. I hope no one was too disappointed. I promise we get some more information about their relationship in the next chapter. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own avatar or any of the characters.

Sorry for the slow update. I hope it is worth the wait.

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Iroh tried to hold his wayward great nephew still as he forced the small boy's arms through the sleeves of the decorative costume. Zoren kept turning around trying to catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror and then swivel impatiently to the door. The black silk haori was finally in place, the dragons picked out in gold thread shimmering brightly in the morning sun.

Zoren traced the raised patterns in the fabric, his fingers lingering on one of the mighty dragons whiskers. "Ah, now you look like the prince of the fire nation. Let's see if those dragons can protect your clothing from holes and mud," Iroh chuckled patting the boy fondly on the back.

"What kind of things will be at the common festival?" Zoren asked excitedly taking his Uncle's hand. "Is it much like the summer solstice held at the palace?"

"Don't worry it's not nearly so boring," Iroh told him letting loose a deep laugh. "There will be many children instead of politicians and lots of food, shows, and of course the fireworks".

"Will they be as grand as the palace fireworks?" Zoren asked his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"I'm not sure, but we will be able to see the palace fireworks from the town as well so do not worry". Iroh assured his great nephew. "So what fearsome mask have you picked to go with your costume. "Perhaps the dragon of the west to match your costume," Iroh suggested with hopeful innocence.

"I picked a blue spirit mask". Zoren said showing Iroh the blue and white mask that had become a common site at masked parties ever since the real blue spirit stopped appearing several years ago. Though there were of course rumors of blue spirit sightings, and Iroh couldn't help but wonder if some of them were real reports. He was far to old to keep track of his nephew's night time activities any longer.

Iroh took the mask from Zoren's hands and examined it. "And why would you pick the blue spirit. He was a criminal against the fire nation," He turned the mask so it caught the lights and smiled wickedly back at him. "I don't know if your father will approve of your decision". Iroh frowned slightly in thought.

"Yeah, well you and father were criminals at one point. Besides the blue spirit saved the Avatar that one time, so he can't be all that bad," Zoren told him.

Iroh laughed a deeply clutching his belly. "Yes, yes. I suppose you are right young prince". Iroh wiped the tears from his eyes. "You are very wise for your years. Not even your father will be able to argue with that logic".

Iroh motioned for Zoren to turn around and tied the mask in place. "There. You may go now," Iroh told his great nephew. Zoren looked down at himself and then sauntered over to the floor length mirror in what the young boy imagined was a very dignified fashion. He examined his front and turned to his side. He traced the gold dragons with his fingertips noticing how the thread matched his fire nation eyes. He nodded in satisfaction to the mirror.

By this point Iroh was nearly set to burst with laughter, but he muffled it and changed it to a cough with his sleeve. He may love his great nephews, but their prides were easily wounded and they had tempers to match their fathers. Iroh knew better than test the royal temper.

"Can we get Kiela now?" Zoren asked pulling the mask off his head. Iroh smiled brightly, "Of course, but let us not forget your brother. Rukon could use a little fun too". They left Zoren's room in search of the two other children, Zoren practically bouncing down the hallways. His mask was dangling from his hand by a white silk ribbon the light dancing merrily off the blue and white surface.

Zoren shoved open Kiela's door without knocking causing Kiela to gasp and turn about in surprise. When she noticed Iroh, she quickly tugged down the left sleeve of her kimono. Iroh frowned slightly. He had noticed the hand shaped burn when it appeared seven months ago right about the time Zoren started showing his fire bending potential.

It didn't take a genius of Iroh's caliber to piece together what had happened. However, neither of the children said anything, and the burn didn't seem to affect their friendship. Iroh had not told Zuko, unsure of what his nephew's reaction to the situation would be. He loved both of his sons deeply, but he was very protective of Kiela.

Kiela looked every bit as beautiful as her mother. She was just starting to enter that gawky phase filled with losing teeth and growth spurts but that didn't affect her beauty as far as Iroh and Zoren were concerned. After all Kiela was perfect in every way. She smiled at them brightly, displaying two gaps in her row of bottom teeth, before rushing at both of them and giving them tight hugs. Though in Iroh's case, it was more of an attempted hug as her arms barely stretched across his wide stomach.

Iroh chuckled at patted her made up hair. Her costume was blue and covered in dancing koi fish and lilipads. It made her look even more the water tribe child that she was. She held her orange koi mask up to be examined by the pair.

"What do you think," she asked excitedly.

Zoren wrinkled his nose. "It's a fish," he said unenthused. "Why didn't you pick one of the pretty lady masks or maybe the moon spirit?"

Kiela tightened her mouth and let her smile drop. Iroh never realized that someone so young could appear so stern. "I like fish. What's wrong with fish?" Kiela asked accusingly.

It looked like Zoren was preparing to deliver a list of all the things that were wrong with fish. Iroh decided to interrupt the beginnings of one of the rare fights between the two children. "The koi fish is a very noble creature," Iroh told them both. "In fact, I know from personal experience that the moon spirit would very much approve your choice of mask," Iroh told her.

Kiela gave Iroh her gap toothed smile and a 'see' nod to Zoren. However, any tension between the two quickly slipped away and she grabbed his hand leading the way to Rukon.

As the eldest and next in line to the throne, Rukon had to participate in many fire nation ceremonies. Zuko and Rukon had been in the fire temple with the fire sages giving praise to Agni since morning. The ceremony would be complete when the sun reached it's highest point in the sky. The group waited by the door patiently and some a little less patiently for the ceremony to come to a close.

When the doors finally creaked open, the two children were in the middle of a very stimulating game of chase each other around Iroh. However, they both straightened up and came to slightly disheveled attention as they had been taught to appear as fire nation royalty. Not that Kiela was fire nation royalty exactly. Her position was complicated, generally unexplained, and widely speculated upon by the nation.

Everyone bowed lowly to the fire sages as they exited in a dignified line. Zuko and Rukon were last. They paused at the threshold of the door and bowed their heads to the sages. As soon as the sages were out of site Rukon rushed over to his brother and cousin.

Both of whom burst into laughter and pointed at his ceremonial costume, chiefly the overwhelmingly large and decorative helmet that was strapped to his head. He blushed and released the tie allowing it to clatter to the floor. He also socked his younger brother in the arm and pinched Kiela on the arm.

They both tried to protest, but were still recovering from their laughter. "It's not funny," he told them, but he did smile a little.

Iroh had caught Zuko smiling as well, but his nephew's face was quickly schooled into an expression of dissatisfaction. "Rukon is that proper treatment of ceremonial costume," he said sternly.

Rukon turned around with a bowed head and picked up the monstrosity of a helmet. "No father, I'm sorry," he apologized. Iroh frowned pointedly at his nephew trying to remind him that he was a father first and fire lord second.

Zuko rolled his eyes, but knelt next to his son. "It is rather awful isn't it. I threw it in the pond once after my sister teased me," he confided to his eldest son.

Rukon smiled shyly at his father and gave him a rare hug. Well since Zuko was kneeling and apparently in a hugging mood the rest of the children took the opportunity to tackle him to the ground. "Uncle, help!" Zuko pleaded as he tried to pin his squirming children.

"Are you telling me you can face the avatar, fire benders, water benders, and earth benders on your own, but not these children?" Iroh asked receiving a round of giggles from the children.

"That's what I'm telling you. Now help me," Zuko said holding Kiela as far away as he could manage by the armpits while Zoren was pinned under his knees and Rukon was wrapped around his neck.

"Oh alright," Iroh said and joined in the fun that the fire lady would surely disapprove of, but he was certain a very dear water bender would have appreciated.

The children were now in the process of enjoying the festival, while Zuko and Iroh kept a close eye on them. Mai had declined attending the festival, and had reminded Zuko that it was not an appropriate place for their sons. However, Iroh had easily brushed aside her disapproval and convinced Zuko to come as well. He had also convinced Zuko to allow Zoren to keep the blue spirit mask. Iroh secretly thought that Zuko was very proud of his youngest son's choice of mask.

There were of course royal guards disguised within the crowd. Zuko did not take chances with his children. Rukon and Zoren were both attempting to show Kiela how to write her name with the sparklers and doing a rather poor job of it, as the smoke from the two set of characters intermingled. Kiela seemed to be enjoying herself which put a smile on Iroh and Zuko's face.

"I am often ashamed to find myself so happy to have Kiela with us," Iroh said giving Zuko a sidelong glance.

"Yes," Zuko said moving his eyes towards the ground. "I have felt the same way," Zuko confessed to his uncle.

"Do you wish that these children were yours and Katara's and that she was here with us. Do you wish you had waited for her," Iroh asked watching the children.

"Stop, Uncle. Katara is gone and Mai is my wife, mother to my children. I am not Kiela's father and all the wishing in the world won't change decisions made in the past," Zuko said his eyes burning with anger and hurt.

"That may be true, but I know one thing you said that most certainly is not?" Iroh said wisely.

"And what is that," Zuko spat.

"That Kiela is your daughter," Iroh said forcefully. "You can't deny that you think of her as such, and I know she sees you as her father," Iroh told him.

"Hmm," Zuko replied noncommittally. The sun was beginning to set and the fireworks at the palace begun with an explosion of gold. The children abandoned the small fountains they had been setting off and rushed to Zuko and Iroh. Without being asked Zuko lifted Kiela off the ground and placed her on his shoulders, so she would have a better view of the lights. Iroh smiled as the boys pulled over an overturned crate and shared it in order to see above the crowds. Peace was everything Iroh had hoped for. He looked over at his nephew and the girl who had her hands fisted in Zuko's hair. Zuko was smiling, but there was a profound sadness behind that smile. 'Almost everything I had hoped for," Iroh though wistfully before turning his eyes back to the display.

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I figured they wouldn't tell anyone about Zuko being the blue spirit. It's one thing for a country to take back their banished prince and another to accept that he was a criminal.

If anyone ever thinks this story strays to far from being classified as ZukoxKatara let me know; I'll take it out of the Zutara search though I hope you zutarans would still read it.


	6. Chapter 6 Always the Fool

Disclaimer: I do not own avatar or any of the characters.

Author's Note: So I was watching the boiling rock part 1 and 2 and it inspired me to finish this chapter. I had started writing it a long time ago and got stuck, but the newest episodes of avatar made me want to finish it.

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Mai watched her children play with Kiela. She smiled almost imperceptibly as her children frolicked and splashed in the garden pond. It was a childishness she would have to rebuke them for later; it was inappropriate behavior for royal heirs. However, right now she enjoyed their innocent display.

Despite all outward appearances, Mai did love her family fiercely. She would never let any harm come to her boys or Zuko which is why she kept such a careful eye on the water bender's child. Kiela could never physically harm her family, but she had already caused plenty of political problems since her arrival. Prejudice did not just disappear after the war, and Zuko's treatment of the girl left room for gossip and political speculation.

After the defeat of Lord Ozai, Mai had thought she had lost Zuko forever. He had fallen in love with the water tribe girl some time in their journeys. Maybe things could have been different if she had left Azula sooner, if she had sided with Zuko, but it was too late. She saw the way he looked at her like she was the center of his universe. Even the throne and his honor paled in comparison to Katara.

However, Katara did not stay and did not marry Zuko. Mai hadn't known the details at the time, no longer being privy to royal information. She knew Zuko had been angry and upset for months after her departure; He always wore his heart on his sleeve. She had been surprised and ecstatic, not that anyone would have been able to tell except for Ty Lee, when she received an invitation to the palace for a celebratory ball in honor of the dragon of the west.

It was at the ball that they had become reacquainted. Zuko had been different than the boy she had loved, still loved. The courts had been flooded with rumors of Zuko and his temperamental moods after the departure of the water tribe girl. She had been expecting something different than the charming collected prince she came face to face with. His anger had burned away his emotions and all that was left was a calm collected leader. Mai was shocked to discover his poise and manners reminded her deeply of Ozai and she found nothing of Zuko's former passion.

Of course, she didn't comment on the change. They spoke politely to each other with all the political correctness they could muster. He engaged her for two dances and as the night came to a close invited her to the palace for an upcoming event.

She continued to see him on a more regular basis at functions. He was always very polite and cold. His behavior sent her reeling. All she wanted to do was shake him and shout at him to wake up. She wanted to tell him that the water bending wench was just a stupid girl that didn't know what she had. She wanted to scoff and criticize him for letting his world revolve around and be destroyed by one person.

She was such a hypocrite. She accepted his proposal without thought. She forgot about him hurting her in the past and ignored the fact that he was miserably in love with another woman. She didn't care about any of that. All she cared about was that she would get to be close to Zuko again even if he wasn't exactly the man she fell in love. She still loved him and he was the center of her world. She hated herself for it; love had always made her play the fool.

She just didn't realize how much of a fool she had been until _she_ came back. In over a year of marriage Mai had almost convinced herself that Zuko did love her. She wanted it so desperately that it was easy to lie to herself. Besides sometimes at night he would whisper, "I love you too". But Mai realized his words were empty when she saw Zuko look at Katara.

Katara had been there on some sort of diplomatic mission. Mai didn't remember the reason for the visit. All she remembered was the longing look of desperation when he looked at the dark skinned woman. It broke Mai's heart. You think she would be used to it by now, but it still hurt.

The look would have been more than enough to torment her for the rest of her marriage, but of course the cruelty of the universe knows no bounds. She had been walking through the palace gardens listlessly stroking her stomach. Mai knew she was pregnant, but she hadn't revealed it to Zuko yet. They had actually conceived shortly after marriage, but she had lost the baby within two months. It had been a difficult time for Zuko; she didn't want to put him through that again. She was such a fool; always trying to protect him, save him.

Mai felt the tension in the air before she heard their voices. She slipped into the shadows and listened. She already knew what was going to be said, so why did she stay? She was such a fool.

"Please Katara. Please understand?" He asked in a trembling voice. Mai had never heard his voice filled with such emotion. It was the voice of the old Zuko; the man he kept locked away, the one that was just for Katara. "I don't love her." Mai didn't stop breathing, her eyes didn't prick with tears; she knew this she had always known this. Still when his voice said those words, a profound hollowness opened up inside of her.

Katara looked up at him tears making her eyes shine. Mai distantly felt anger, but emotion seemed so far out of her reach at the moment. What right did that girl have to cry? Katara had everything. "Oh, Zuko," Katara said her soft voice quavering as well. "I understand. You don't need my forgiveness for doing what was right for your country. I understood all those years ago," Katara told him tears seeping down her cheeks.

"I've never stopped loving you," He told her passionately bringing his pale hand to her browned skin.

"I know, but I wish you would," she told him turning her face away. Mai felt something inside her relax just a little. "But how can I ask you to stop when I can't," she confessed.

Mai bit her lip until she tasted the familiar metallic tang of her blood. The pain was so much better than the emptiness that engulfed her darkened form. Even now, a distant hope plagued Mai. If Zuko walked away, if he remained loyal to his wife, it would mean he must feel something. She prayed to every deity she could think of to allow his sense of honor triumph over his feeling. She should have known that Zuko figured out honor wasn't everything years ago.

Mai just watched as her husband ran his hand against the young woman's jaw line cupping her chin. He brought his face slowly to meet hers and kissed her softly, lovingly, in a way Mai had never been kissed. She collapsed against the pillar that provided her cover; her knees no longer able to support her.

"Aunt Mai, please don't cry," a soft voice interrupted her recollections. Mai turned her blurred vision toward the face that looked so much like Katara's. Her hand had moved without her brain registering the motion. She heard a resounding smack and saw that Kiela was clutching her cheek tears streaming from her wide blue eyes.

Mai covered her mouth with her offending hand and looked down at Kiela with surprise. She tried to reach out for the girl, but Kiela scrambled away from her, fumbling backwards with her hands and feet. Mai recalled herself squashing any motherly instinct that told her to comfort the girl. This girl had the same thing her mother had, the only thing Mai had ever truly wanted in her life. She had Zuko's love. Zuko loved this adopted brat more than his own wife, and Mai would never allow herself to feel guilt for any cruel actions toward the girl. Though a small piece of Mai's heart felt sympathy for the girl who didn't know why her Aunt couldn't love her, but those thoughts only caused her heart to ache more.

She thought it would start hurting less with time, and it had for a short while. When Rukon was born and then Zoren, the two boys became Zuko's world. Mai realized that loving their children didn't mean he loved her, but sometimes she could pretend for just a short while. Sometimes she hated herself for being so pathetic; she had been a strong capable woman once. Love had changed her, and she wasn't sure if it was for the better or worse.

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I hope you enjoyed it. I always love your reviews. We are quickly (or more accurately - slowly) approaching the beginning chapter of this fic. I know a bit confusing, but I'm rather fond of it myself.


	7. Chapter 7

**Katara's Daughter**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of the characters.

Author's Note: Well since I've gotten so many reviews since I uploaded the last chapter I thought I would reward you with another update in less than a day. I know it doesn't make up for the months I neglected this story, but enjoy.

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Kiela was awoken in the middle of the night by a forceful shake. She attempted to swat away the annoying figure and snuggle deeper under the covers. "Geh away," she mumbled into her pillow.

"Kiela, you have to get up its important," Zoren pleaded with her pulling down her delightfully warm covers.

"No," she told her pillow and grabbed the blankets with all her might. After a brief game of tug-of-war Zoren had managed to yank the covers away and pull a very grumpy and awake Kiela onto the cold floor at the same time. "Get out of bed now, Kiela," Zoren shouted as she hit the hard surface.

"What's wrong with you?" she growled viciously tears of frustration welling in her eyes. She normally tried not to cry, but she was tired and mad at Zoren for knocking her out of bed. A girl could only take so much. She looked up at Zoren and noticed how nervous he was. His pale skin was nearly white, barely illuminated by the light from the hallway. His hair was a mess. It was loose and it looked like he had been running his hands through it repeatedly. He was currently pulling on his fingers in a worried fashion.

Kiela stood warily after Zoren didn't say anything for a minute. The way he was acting was starting to scare her. "What's the matter?" she tried to reach out and touch his arm, but he pulled out of her reach.

"Something's wrong with Grandpa Iroh," Zoren said after a moment.

Kiela tried to reassure Zoren. "He's just got a chest cold. He promised to have tea with us after he was feeling a little better. I'm sure he'll be fine in a couple of days." She tried to give him a hug, but he avoided her arms again.

He glared at her. It was a very odd feeling to be glared at by Zoren. He never had looked so mean before. Kiela took an unsteady step backwards and her back hit the bed. "That's what everyone says, but he got sick weeks ago." He suddenly lurched forward and grabbed her shoulders tightly. Kiela tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he was too strong. "He hasn't left his bedroom for a week, Kiela! He's not going to be alright in a couple of days!"

Kiela felt tears returning to her eyes, but she could do little to stop them. She was tired, confused, angry, and more than a little scared of Zoren and what he was saying. "What do you mean?" she said in a shaky breath.

Zoren shook her roughly. "Stop being a stupid baby," he practically shouted. Kiela just looked at him in shock. He had never treated her this way before. Zoren had never so much as raised his voice at her. This had to be some sort of trick, this couldn't be Zoren. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. She didn't want to see the way he was looking at her anymore. "Not everyone gets better Kiela…sometimes…sometimes they die," he said in a choked whisper clutching at her arms.

Kiela gasped and her eyes flew open. "Don't say that!"

"Why not! It's not like not saying it is going to stop it from happening." Tears were now in Zoren's eyes too.

"He's not going to die, Zoren." Her arms had started to ache where he was grasping them tightly.

"That's right," Zoren said triumphantly. There was a near fanatic gleam in his eye. "He's not going to die, because we won't let him."

"Zoren?" Kiela tried. She was so confused.

"Come on. We're going to go heal him." He let go of one of her arms but kept a tight hold on the other one and started to drag her towards the partially open door.

Kiela tried to protest, but couldn't find any words. Instead she settled for digging her heels into the ground and jerking out of his grasp. "What are you talking about? We're kids, we can't _do_ anything. The royal doctors are looking after him; there's nothing we can do to help," she tried to explain. Though Kiela was pretty sure nothing would derail whatever Zoren had cooked up in his mind.

Zoren narrowed his eyes at her. "Yes you can. I saw you," He pointed an accusing finger at her chest.

She slapped his had down so it wasn't pointing at her anymore. "What are you talking about?" She hissed.

"You healed the baby turtle-duck in the pond the other day after Sparky got hold of it." A few days ago Sparky, the parakeet-cat, had gotten hold of one of the baby turtle-ducks. Kiela had rescued the turtle-duckling and chased Sparky away. Initially when she found it she thought it might die, there was so much blood; but when she lowered the duckling into the water to wash away the blood something strange happened. She thought she saw the water glow blue for a second, but it could have been a trick of the light. Well, once the turtle-duck was in the water it just swam away as if nothing had happened.

"I didn't do anything though," Kiela protested. "It was just stunned and then the water must have woken it up."

"But I saw the water glow blue!" He was almost shouting in his frustration. He had grabbed her hand and began pulling her out of the room. "You're a water bender and I know you can fix him." It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than her.

Kiela had begun to cry earnestly now. Salty tears were spilling down her cheeks leaving sticky trails and her nose had started to run. "But I'm not. I've tried and water just won't move for me." She tried to stop him as he dragged her out of the room and began pulling her down the hall towards Iroh's bedroom. She was starting to become frantic. He was pulling her so hard she thought he might pull her arm out of its socket. She tried to remove his hand using her nails to dig into his skin.

He let out a gasp of pain, but did not loosen his grip. He jerked her forward so she almost lost her balance and fell to the floor. She let out a muffled cry. After all she didn't want to wake up Uncle Zuko or Aunt Mai and get Zoren in trouble.

"Zoren, stop," she whispered desperately. He continued to ignore her pleas and drag her down the hall. "What if he's sleeping or there's a doctor?"

"He's always sleeping." Zoren said flatly refusing to slow his pace. Two right turns a left turn and four hallways later they were standing outside of the door to Iroh's room. They had spent many days playing and laughing in this room. Suddenly the familiar door with the carved dragons looked dark and forboding.

"Zoren," Kiela hissed desperately, but he was beyond being reasoned with at this point. H shouldered open the door as quietly as possible dragging a more subdued Kiela in behind him.

Kiela hadn't seen uncle Iroh in over a week, and as much as she thought this was a bad idea, there was part of her that wanted to make sure he was alright. As long as Zoren was forcing her to take part in his crazy plan, she could at least check up on Grandpa Iroh.

They snuck near his bed side. Iroh was so still. Normally he snored loudly in his sleep intermixed with talking. One night which felt like so long ago, Zoren and Kiela had snuck in and listened to him sleep talk for an hour and ended up giggling so loudly that he woke up. If it wasn't for the occasional wet rattling breath, Kiela wouldn't be able to tell if he was alive.

It frightened Kiela. He was so much more pale than usual. And his normally round pudgy face had a new hollowness around the cheekbones. Kiela looked over at Zoren, but he seemed unsurprised at Iroh's condition. Perhaps he had snuck in before and knew how bad it had become.

Kiela hesitantly lifted a hand to the old man's brow. The skin was wet and clammy. She restrained from jerking her hand away and tried to wipe his brow soothingly like her nurse maid did when she was sometimes sick.

Suddenly there was a sharp jab in her side and she felt wetness spread through her sleeping clothes. She looked down to find that Zoren had brought her the dragon painted china washbasin filled with water. She looked down at the basin and then up at Zoren. He had a desperate needy look in his eyes that Kiela didn't know what to do with.

Kiela swallowed the dryness in her throat and took the bowl from his shaking hands. She maneuvered it up onto the bed with Iroh and then didn't know what to do.

"Zoren, I don't know what to do," she said desperately.

"Well you're the waterbender," he said oh so helpfully.

Kiela nearly growled at him in her frustration, but took a calming breath. "Well even _if_ I can water bend, it doesn't mean I know how," she pointed out. "It's not like you just knew how to fire bend."

Zoren's eyes flickered briefly to Kiela's arm and let out a heavy breath. "Well what did you do with the turtle-duck?"

"I don't know!" Kiela exclaimed in a whisper. She could feel the tears rising again, but she was sick of crying for tonight. "I just thought I'd wash the blood off and then see if I could fix it. I don't know what I did or if I did anything at all."

"Well, maybe you should wash him or something," Zoren said shrugging helplessly.

"Fine," Kiela snapped. She could never remember being so angry at Zoren before. What he was asking from her was completely unfair. She stomped over to the table the wash basin normally sat on and picked up a cloth. She then stomped back over as dramatically as possible.

She dipped the cloth into the water and ran it across Iroh's forehead. It washed off the sweat, but there was no glowing and he didn't look like he was getting better.

"You're doing it wrong," Zoren said exasperated. "You have to concentrate."

"I am concentrating," she scream whispered.

"No, you're not. If you were trying he would be getting better." Zoren accused.

That was the breaking point for Kiela. Here she was watching her Grandpa waste away and Zoren was acting like it was all her fault. She knocked the bowl off of the bed causing it to crash and shatter on the floor. She then jumped onto the bed and buried he face into Iroh's covered stomach and began balling.

She didn't know what Zoren did after that and she didn't care. She just wanted everything to go away and be like it was before Zoren shook her awake.

"What's going on here," she heard the angered voice of her Uncle Zuko. But she refused to look up or stop crying all over Iroh.

Zoren started to splutter out some sort of excuse, "We just wanted to help."

"What have you done," Zuko demanded in a harsh voice he rarely used with any of the children.

"We…I thought that Kiela could heal Grandpa Iroh. But she wouldn't do it," Zoren said bitterly.

When he said this Kiela just began to cry louder, she couldn't help but notice that Grandpa Iroh had failed to wake despite all of the noise. She heard the heavy footfalls of her uncle, before she felt the warm familiar arms pull her shaking form off of the bed. Zuko cradled her tightly in his arms so her legs were wrapped around his waste and her head was leaning on her shoulder. She still continued to cry her tears spilling all over his night shirt.

"How could you Zoren," Zuko hissed angrily at his son. "She's just a little girl."

"But I saw her…"

"I don't care what you saw. It was stupid and irresponsible."

"It wasn't stupid," Zoren tried to protest.

"Go to your room now," Zuko practically screamed. Zoren pushed past Zuko and marched to the door. Kiela watched him go from over Zuko's shoulder. Right before he left he turned around and looked at them with so much hatred; Kiela closed her eyes and buried her face once again in her Uncle's shoulder. This was awful everything had gone so wrong.

She must have fallen asleep in her uncle's arms, exhausted from all of the crying and fighting, because she awoke in her own bed. Zoren wouldn't talk to her anymore. She tried to catch his eye once or twice, but he made a point of it to ignore her. Three days after that horrible night her Grandpa died. Kiela felt as though she would never stop crying.

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Author's Note: What a lame chapter. Iroh died and Zoren is acting like a pouty ten year old. I'm starting to shatter the vision Zoren has of perfect Kiela and his perfect father. It makes me sad to have an angry Zoren, but he is ten and just lost one of the people he loved most in the world.

Even if the contents of this chapter upset you, I hope that you liked the update. Thank you for all of the reviews; they make my day a little brighter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Katara's Daughter**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of the characters.

Author's Note: Alright. 1st chapter occurs between chapter seven and this chapter. I'm terrible at updating, so I'm making no promises, but I do want to finish this fic.

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Zoren wasn't mad at Kiela. Okay, maybe he was just a little upset with Kiela. But if there was a chance that he could have saved Grandpa Iroh's life he would have tried much harder than Kiela had. All she did that night was cry. He used to think she was so much braver than he was, but it turns out she was just a big baby.

Zoren was what Grandpa Iroh would have chuckling referred to as acting out. Unfortunately, Grandpa Iroh was no longer around to casually redirect Zoren's bad mood. Instead Zoren vented his anger through misbehavior. He had started the day by pulling Kiela's hair in morning protocol lessons. Neither the instructor nor Kiela found this amusing. One scolded him and sent him to the corner and the other one began to cry which made Zoren feel bad which then made Zoren angry about being made to feel bad.

Kiela cried all of the time lately. She was turning into such a stupid girl.

After nearly an hour of fruitless searching and half-hearted attempts to entertain his self, Zoren finally located his brother in the training room. It seemed to be where Rukon spent all of his free time these days. Rukon sat in the middle of a ring of candles, eyes closed, steadily breathing in and out while controlling the height of the flames.

It was a more difficult exercise than non-firebenders realized. First you had to split your attention between all of the candles. If you focused, too much on one candle it worn burn out before the others defeating the purpose of the exercise. Zoren had yet to burn a set evenly down to the stubs. Zoren steeled himself for meeting his brother. Rukon always tended to be a bit touchy when you interrupted his training. Zoren thought that was a waste of anger considering he was always training, so you were bound to interrupt him and that meant he was constantly irritated. Silly, really.

"Hey Rukon," Zoren plopped down on the other side of the candles from his brother. Rukon's mouth tightened, but otherwise he did not acknowledge his brother. "What you doin'?" Zoren asked. He had begun to draw small patterns in the sandy floor.

"Training," Rukon said flatly. The flames flickered as he lost the pattern of his breath.

"But you trained yesterday. You're always training," he complained.

"And you never train, so it all works itself out. Now go away." Once again the flames flared up suddenly.

Zoren rolled his eyes. This was a familiar conversation. Zoren grinned slyly before crossing his legs into a training position. Zoren began the practice as well, but focusing his concentration on one of Rukon's candles. Rukon quickly sensed the diminishing candle and opened his eyes to glare at his younger brother. "What are you doing?" He asked in a barely controlled voice.

"Practicing" Zoren answered cheekily.

"Why don't you run along and play with Kiela. She's good at pretending and making up those silly games you like to play. I don't need you wasting my time" The candles around him were now burning freely under their own influence.

Zoren was affronted that Rukon thought he only wasted his time. "Well, I figure I'm getting a bit old for that sort of thing." He said in his firmest tone of commitment. "Kiela's still young, and she's a girl. She doesn't really understand what I…" Zoren hesitated. He wasn't exactly sure what Kiela didn't understand, but clearly somewhere there was a lack of understanding. Otherwise things would be different. "She doesn't understand." He finished.

Zoren thought his brother might be about to smile, but then he donned a serious expression. "True. Girls are very different." Zoren nodded in agreement.

"And she's so much younger," Rukon continued. Zoren nodded again. He wasn't sure yet if his brother was teasing him.

"And she's a Water Bender," Rukon added helpfully.

"Well, yes. An outsider," Zoren said more firmly. "So she can't understand right?"

"Not yet at least, but after a few years at the Fire Nations Academy for girls, I'm sure you two will get along much better." Rukon closed his eyes and began breathing in and out steadily. The flames quickly came under his influence.

Zoren drew his eyebrows together and frowned. "But she's not going to the academy. She doesn't want to go."

"Maybe she changed her mind." The flames suddenly leaped upwards.

"What!" Zoren yelped. "Father wouldn't allow it." He thought back to the throne room and the night in Iroh's room. "She's his favorite," he said bitterly.

Rukon opened his eyes again and raised his eyebrows. "So if she asked to go, it would make sense that he wouldn't refuse her."

"But…but she can't go!"

"Well, I suppose Waterbenders aren't normally welcomed, but I doubt the school would refuse her entrance if Father put in the application."

Zoren had stopped listening to his brothers needling and was more caught up in his own thoughts. After seeing Kiela and his father in the throne room he had wished so much for Kiela to just disappear. Now, he suddenly felt as if that might be the worst thing in the world. He jumped up from the sandy ground without another word and rushed out of the training house missing the exasperated sigh of relief from his brother.

Zoren's feet pounded across the ground. He had to find Kiela and discover if she was really leaving. She wouldn't leave him, not with Grandpa Iroh gone. Things were supposed to get better, but they kept getting worse.

He rushed through the halls; ignoring the shouts and scolding to slow down from the various adults he rushed by. He practically flung his body into the doors of her room making the doors slam open against the walls.

She wasn't there, so his dramatic entrance had been slightly wasted. He leaned against the doorway to catch his breath. His hair had loosened from its tie and a few strands had fallen behind his face. He tucked the loose hair behind his ears and began to look around his surroundings. He still needed to find Kiela, but he wasn't sure where she would be. He had lost track of her schedule over the last few weeks. Before they used to spend all of their time together, so he had always known where she was.

He was momentarily distracted when he noticed the wardrobe door was slightly ajar. He walked over to it slowly and opened the door fully. It was strangely empty. The clothes Kiela used to hide behind when they played hide and seek were missing. Cold fear filled his heart. What if she had already left?

He spun around and checked the room for something anything that would say different. There was luggage lying next to her bed and he let out a sigh of relief. She was still here. He calmed down for a minute before realizing that all of this meant she was actually leaving. Her things were packed away and she was going to leave him, and no one had told him. She hadn't told him.

He felt anger and a horrible tightness in his throat. He wouldn't cry, that's what stupid girls did. He rubbed his robe roughly across his eyes, making them sting but keeping the tears at bay. He trudged toward her bed and slumped onto it. He'd wait until she came back. It would be no good trying to look for her. He lay down on his stomach and let the wetness that escaped his eyes be soaked up by her bed covering.

He must have fallen asleep, because he started when someone shook his shoulder. His eyes were sore, his nose was stuffed, and his mouth felt sticky. He looked up to see the concerned face of Kiela. He quickly turned away from her and wiped his face on his sleeve trying to hide any evidence that he may have cried; even if it had only been a little bit, and in a manly way of crying.

"Zoren, are you…are you alright," Kiela asked hesitantly putting a hand on his shoulder. Zoren jerked away from her reach and pushed himself up on the bed. He felt embarrassed and angry.

"When were you going to tell me," he demanded.

"Tell you?" Kiela asked. He noticed her voice went a bit funny. She knew exactly what he was talking about, and it just made him more upset that she was avoiding answering him.

"That you're leaving," he spat at her.

"I didn't think you'd care!" She yelled back at him crossing her small arms over her chest.

His first response was to be 'of course I care' but he pushed that feeling far away. "I don't care," he said instead.

"Then why did you come here?"

To try to stop his best friend from leaving, but apparently she didn't care about him anymore. "Just checking to see if it was true," he explained. "And I'm glad that it is," he stuck on at the end after a moment of hesitation.

Kiela's eyes looked brighter than normal. "Well, I'm glad that you're glad."

"Me too." He huffed. "You can go hang out with other stupid girls now!"

"That's right." She said glaring at him.

"Maybe you'll even find someone that actually likes you."

"Maybe I will," She responded tensely.

"Though I doubt anyone there will want to be friends with a little whiny waterbender." He told her in his snottiest voice.

Kiela let out a frustrated scream before she launched herself at him. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you." She screamed repeatedly as her fists came into contact with any piece of Zoren that they could reach.

"Get off of me you psycho," He pushed her off of him and she tumbled backwards off of the bed and onto the ground with a loud thump. He pushed himself up and off the bed as well. Kiela was still sitting on the ground where she landed and she had started to cry, again.

Zoren looked down on her with anger and disgust. "I hate you too." He walked towards the door leaving her to snivel to herself. "And I hope I never see you again," he screamed at her before he slammed the door shut behind him.

Zoren didn't see her again before she left the palace two days later.

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AN: Children are so horrible to each other. Next chapter is Kiela's POV at school.


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